Former UT Women's Track manager jailed

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Police arrested a former equipment manager for the University of Texas Women's Track & Field and Cross Country team Thursday night following a two-month long investigation.

Rene Zamora, 30, is charged with improper photography or visual recording, a state jail felony. Authorities said Zamora began videotaping women in all stages of undressing in Spring 2008.

UT Police Department investigators confiscated a home laptop computer and memory cards from Zamora's Austin apartment in September, according to Senior Associate Athletics Director Nick Voinis.

Detectives found images of two former and eight current female student athletes. In addition, police said there are also two- to three more women in the videos that they have not identified, likely student athletes as well.

"We are shocked and angry that an individual who outwardly comported himself as a trusted employee allegedly took advantage of both his position and access," said UT Women's Athletics Director Christine Plonsky . "Once we became aware of the situation, we took immediate action and have been fully cooperating with legal authorities. There is no adequate means of describing our regret and dismay at this news."

UT officials began their investigation after a member of the cross country team said she caught the 30-year-old trying to record her in the shower in the locker room after returning from a track meet in Houston on Sept. 3.

According to a police search warrant, the athlete turned to rinse her hair and spotted the lense of a camera pointed at her just above the curtain rod. She told police she was startled and screamed.

Then, she reported hearing someone's footsteps running away. She told police she peeked outside the curtain and recognized Zamora running away. She yelled "Rene," in shock, and told police that Zamora yelled, "Sorry," as he ran out of the locker room.

Zamora told police he had used a small, university-issued flip video camera from his office. He described holding the camera up above the curtain rod about two seconds before he heard the student scream. Zamora told police he checked the camera to see what he recorded, but it did not work.

In the affidavit, police said the memory card was missing from the camera four days after the reported situation. That is when they got a search warrant and seized his laptop, two flash drives and a camera from his apartment.

The victim told UT Athletics officials about the alleged incident the evening of Sept. 7 - following the Labor Day holiday - and that's what sparked the investigation on Sept. 8.

Voinis said Athletics officials and UT police met with Zamora to question him about the alleged incident, and he received a verbal suspension from his job that same day. His official resignation came on Sept. 10, just two days after the investigation began.

Zamora has also been banned from future employment at the University of Texas .

"UT Women's Athletics has a reputation for providing a fully supportive and protective environment for our student-athletes and staff," said Plonsky. "Since this situation came to light, we have marshaled all of our resources with appropriate personnel to review measure and safeguards associated with facilities dedicated to our sports teams."

Plonsky added that counseling and other support services for the victims has been available.

Zamora began his association with UT Athletics in 1999 as a part-time undergraduate student assistant and became a full-time events and equipment employee on Sept. 1, 2006.

Zamora’s mandatory criminal background check at the time was “clear,” and there was no indication of criminal activity prior to his assuming full-time status, according to Athletics officials.

He is out on personal recognizance bonds totaling $200,000.